Hockey photography.

[aepoc]

I'm the team photographer for the new Madison Ice Muskies Professional hockey team (AAHL). www.icemuskies.com (http://www.icemuskies.com)

I'm thinking about asking if I can sell my photos at the merchandise stand that is up during the games... and I'm wondering what you guys would suggest for pricing. 8x10's would probably be best, though I'm not sure if I should sell them matted or not. I was thinking that if it was un-matted, I could charge $5 per, and $10 per if matted.

Any ideas or suggestions would be welcomed.

Thanks all.


- j

[racing-guy]

I'm in a similar position. I am in the process of checking around to see what other photographers in the league are charging. You need to price to your market. I did the same thing this summer when I was the photographer for a local speedway.

My initial reaction is that $5 is too low for an 8x10.

[aepoc]

Mpix lists 8x10's at $2 a pop. If $5 is too low for an 8x10, what would be a good price? $7?

[FlyingPhotog]

What's the Team Marketing Department and League Office have to say on this?

[aepoc]

I would like to have my prices set before I bring it up to them. I know the marketing guy, and neither him OR myself are getting paid by the team for our duties.

[racing-guy]

Mpix lists 8x10's at $2 a pop. If $5 is too low for an 8x10, what would be a good price? $7?

What is mpix? Is that a printing company?

The one photographer that I spoke with in our league charges $20 for an 8x10. Yes, he does sell photos at that rate and he's been doing it for years. He donates part of that back to the team though (not sure how much).The racing photographers around here charge $10-$15 for an 8x10.

I'm in southern Ontario, so our market may be different. You have to ensure that your pricing is in the same ballbark as the other photographers in the league. If you can't find any other pricing, then you'll be on your own. Don't short change yourself though when it comes to pricing though.

Before I spoke with the other photographer I was thinking of charging $12-15.

[bwolford]

Ridiculously low prices. $20 would be more appropriate. You might consider a multiprint discount, but $5 is just a waste of your time and energy. I spent the weekend selling 4X6 for $8.

Don't sell yourself short.

[racing-guy]

Further to bwolford's point above:

aepoc - I checked on the league's web site because I had never heard of the team. You're dealing with a professional hockey league so price accordingly. Charging $5 or even $7 is less than you would charge for kid's hockey.

[MJPhotos24]

The local hockey teams photog sets up in between the 2nd and 3rd period selling them for $5 a piece pre-ordered, maybe it's $6. So you order online and pick them up then or order with her and the next game they are available - no on-site I don't think. Either way it's cheap and still struggles with sales I do believe. $15-25 is normal for youth hockey but directing sales to fans is a bit different than parents. One reason I'd never do it as it's just selling too short.

[aepoc]

Thanks for all the information guys (and gals?), I appreciate it a lot. I just wanted to put a couple small images in here to see if you all think that my work is actually worth selling. Any feedback on the images would be very helpful. Thanks again.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2535/4030066493_f1de3a708d_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2741/4024251308_cea7249f9a_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3140/3077771717_c6f58a611a.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3078/3096041007_8277dc962e_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3323/3254716038_48de51d19a_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3325/3235729346_d0e3233f82_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3041/3251606265_16bd8f3d23_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3051/3096886908_81c0735cff_b.jpg

[aepoc]

What is mpix? Is that a printing company?

The one photographer that I spoke with in our league charges $20 for an 8x10. Yes, he does sell photos at that rate and he's been doing it for years. He donates part of that back to the team though (not sure how much).The racing photographers around here charge $10-$15 for an 8x10.

I'm in southern Ontario, so our market may be different. You have to ensure that your pricing is in the same ballbark as the other photographers in the league. If you can't find any other pricing, then you'll be on your own. Don't short change yourself though when it comes to pricing though.

Before I spoke with the other photographer I was thinking of charging $12-15.


Yeah, mpix.com does fantastic print work. Thanks for the pricing info... apparently $5 is way too cheap, I'm glad I asked!

[jfweb11]

Were the Badgers girls at the Kohl Center? What were your settings and WB

[Apollo.11]

nice pics. minor league hockey is blue collar. how about $15?

[aepoc]

jfweb - Yeah, they play at the Kohl Center. I have a media pass for this year as well. My white balance was set to auto last year for those shots, and I fixed anything that needed in when I edited in Photoshop. This year I plan on taking a custom WB setting of the ice and just using that. The lighting at Hartmeyer is atrocious, so I have no idea what I'm going to do there. As far as the other settings, I mostly shot in Av at f/4. I did some in Tv at 1/500th of a second too. Shooting hockey this year, so far I've just used Av at f/2.8 and I'm loving the difference. Hockey is a pain in the ass to photograph.

Apollo - Thank you, I appreciate it. I was thinking $15 as well. Thanks for the suggestion.

[jfweb11]

That's about all I shot is hockey it's a great sport. http://ahsgirlsicehockey.smugmug.com/

[aepoc]

jfweb - Good shots! You do a nice job, definitely.

[jfweb11]

Thank you

[onebikeonehorseone5D]

I can't wait to get back to Madison! I'm going to some hockey games.

aepoc...maybe I'll run into you there.

[Apollo.11]

Aepoc, what did you end up deciding on?

[aepoc]

I ended up deciding on $10 per photo. Only a few sold, but that was more due to the fact that we didn't get jack for attendance. Sorry about the (long) delay.

[EmmaRose]

Id say you need a little more NR but they look good. Ice hockey isn't big enough here to sell anything, a shame

[mckinleypics]

Having attempted hockey at my son's games, I can say it is one of the toughest subjects to shoot. Because of that, you won't have customers with remotely decent shots they've taken themselves. Because of the increased difficulty, I'm thinking $20 is more than fair. Good shots!

[aepoc]

Emma, thanks for the tip. I'll keep working on the NR. All those were taken on my 40D, and I've got a 7D now that I use as my main camera, so hopefully I'll have some better quality shots this year.

Mckinley - You're so very right in hockey being one of the toughest things to shoot. I've seen lots of images that people try to take at games with their point-and-shoots up next to the glass and what-not... and they're never too good. Glad you think $20 is fair. Thank you for the kind words; much appreciated.

[jmweb]

I do this for the QMJHL and charge $20 a print.

[aepoc]

jmweb... that would be excellent. How do your prints sell? Fairly well?

[TopHatMoments]

I would like to have my prices set before I bring it up to them. I know the marketing guy, and neither him OR myself are getting paid by the team for our duties.

Your the official team photog for a pro team and you don't get paid for your duties?
How the he¡¡ did that happen?

How do you Re-coop, all you expences?

Insurance
Equipment
Time

[carshop]

jfweb - Yeah, they play at the Kohl Center. I have a media pass for this year as well. My white balance was set to auto last year for those shots, and I fixed anything that needed in when I edited in Photoshop. This year I plan on taking a custom WB setting of the ice and just using that. The lighting at Hartmeyer is atrocious, so I have no idea what I'm going to do there. As far as the other settings, I mostly shot in Av at f/4. I did some in Tv at 1/500th of a second too. Shooting hockey this year, so far I've just used Av at f/2.8 and I'm loving the difference. Hockey is a pain in the ass to photograph.

Apollo - Thank you, I appreciate it. I was thinking $15 as well. Thanks for the suggestion.
What iso setting?

[aepoc]

TopHat - It was a volunteer basis, and it was the team's first year. I was able to shoot on the bench and practices whenever I wanted and got free food/drink at the games. Not too great, but I had a wonderful relationship with the coach and players and that was worth it. I was going to be getting compensation at the end of the season, but nobody on the team ended up getting paid (coach, staff, players... EVERYONE was stiffed). So that didn't go so well.

Carshop - ISO was normally 1600, sometimes 3200. The arenas I was shooting in were terrible; with the exception of the Kohl Center. Fantastic light in there for shooting hockey.